Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
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YouTube video
Israelis are in the streets protesting against their government. Their grievances are many, and the protesters might be standing shoulder to shoulder with a fellow Israeli citizen, but have very different reasons for coming out on cold February nights.
Mounted Israeli security services have used water cannons, and batons against protesters, and many have been arrested for something that in a democratic country should be tolerated, and admired as a basic right. On Saturday night in Tel Aviv, the police arrested 21 persons protesting.
The biggest group of protesters are angry that the Netanyahu government has not done more to secure the release of the hostages who are held captive in Gaza. With the number of hostages killed by Israeli bombing in Gaza growing, the families and supporters of the hostages want an immediate release of the hostages, and they know that requires negotiations with Hamas. But, Netanyahu has rejected the hostage release deal presented by the US through Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Their slogan is "Choose the lives of our loved ones".
Many of the protesters have focused their wrath of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they view as a convicted corrupt politician, who is prolonging the war in order to save himself from jail. This group are pro-democracy and the protests, in which 719 were arrested, prior to the October 7 attack are fresh in their mind. From January to October 2023, large-scale protests took place across Israel in response to the government's push for a wide-ranging judicial reform which would strip democracy from Israel through the subversion of the Supreme Court. This pro-democracy group are calling for the immediate resignation of Netanyahu.
Their slogan is "You are in charge; you are guilty".
The last group of the protesters are the 'peaceniks', who want an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This group of protesters is the smallest, and are mainly leftist, educated, open-minded people who care about the international standing of Israel and value human rights for all. They want to live in peace alongside their Arab neighbors, and they want to enjoy the respect of the international community, and shed the current image of Israel as a pariah state. These people should find common ground with the US; however, the US government has supported the Israeli occupation.
Their slogan is "It's time to wake up".
Even though there are deep divisions and discontent within Israel, Netanyahu seems to not be concerned about addressing the grievances of the Israeli citizens. He pushes on with his war, fueled by his extremist partners, such as Ben Givir and Smotrich, who hold him on a short leash, reminding him constantly that if he should make deals with Hamas, or even allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, they will pull out of the government, and Netanyahu will be on his way to jail.
Across the US and UK there were mass protests beginning in the early days of Israel's response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. This overwhelming international response in support of the Palestinians in Gaza encouraged South Africa to appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide.
The mass global pressure has not phased most Israelis. A recent survey conducted by Tel Aviv University showed that more than half of the Jewish Israelis surveyed thought Israel was using the right amount of force in Gaza, with another 43% that said it had not used enough.
In another recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), a majority of Jewish Israelis opposed a political agreement to end the war, and two-thirds opposed humanitarian aid to Gaza. In the same survey, only 39% of all Israelis, think there is a high or very high likelihood of "absolute victory", as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised.
After about five months of war, Israelis see that Hamas has not been destroyed and is still fighting, and this adds to their distrust and lack of confidence in their government. Instead of rallying around the flag during a war, the Israelis are out in the streets in the thousands asking for the end of Netanyahu and his radical partners.
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